President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has sacked his Tourism Minister, Ali Waheed amid an ongoing sexual misconduct scandal.

President Solih first demanded his resignation on Thursday and after Ali Waheed's failure to do so the President decided to dismiss him. The news has since been confirmed by Chief Communications Strategist at the President's Office, Ibrahim Hoodh.

Hoodh also revealed that the Ministry is going to be run by Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail for the time being.

Ali Waheed is being accused of sexual harassment and assault by various employees of the Tourism Ministry, who had met with President Solih and the Gender Minister yesterday. During the meeting, they had shared first-hand accounts of the harassment.

Some sources claim that the number of employees Ali Waheed had harassed was at 9 while some claim 7, though nothing has been confirmed as of yet. Some of the employees were also subject to harassment and assault outside the workplace as well.

One of the sources who spoke with ONE also noted that this had been going on for a while, and revealed that during an official trip to a resort one of the employees had jumped into the water to avoid being assaulted by the Minister.

Maldives Police Service have also confirmed that they have launched an investigation into the issue but refrained from sharing any further details.